With Tables Turned
by Klaineforthewin
Summary: In which Blaine stopped Kurt on a staircase, instead of the other way around. Multi-chapter. I like to think the story is better than the summary.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: With Tables Turned**

**Summary: In which Blaine stopped Kurt on a staircase.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**A/N: Somebody's probably already written this concept, but I have yet to read it, so I'm just gonna go ahead and do it anyways. The song is "I'll Make a Man out of You" from Mulan. Please review or story alert or something! Lessthanthree!**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Kurt fought through the throngs of people on his way down a McKinley staircase, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, slightly shocked (he wasn't used to being touched so gently by anyone at school, only being shoved around), to find a boy, slightly shorter than himself, with nervous hazel eyes, dark, curly hair tamed by gel, and a wide smile.

"Excuse me! Um, I'm new here..."

The boy looked kind enough, and a chance to give someone new here a decent opinion of the school's resident gay was enough for Kurt to take a second out of his schedule to help him out. He reached out his hand, which the boy shook. "My name's Kurt."

"Blaine. So, what exactly is going on here?" He gestured to the people still rushing past them.

"Mandatory school assembly. It's the only way anyone will bother to watch the New Directions."

"So the Glee club here isn't liked very well?"

"Bottom of the food chain, along with the geeks and female wrestlers." He nodded his head to Lauren Zizes, who thumped down past them.

Blaine chuckled at this. "Yikes. Which way to this mandatory assembly you speak so lowly of?"

"Follow me, I'll show you." With that, Kurt turned around and started walking, his heart fluttering in his chest. _Finally! I cute guy that doesn't already hate me! Of course with my luck, he'll be straight as a pencil, but a new friend can't hurt! Although his fashion sense is a little off, I mean, who wears a red sweater with a navy blue blazer?_ The idea of a makeover crossed his mind, and he couldn't help but grin.

Blaine fell into step beside him, clinging to his shoulder with one hand to avoid getting lost in the crowd. Kurt's heart skipped a beat at the unexpected contact. Finally they reached the gym, where the bleachers were already mostly full and a small stage was set up. The rest of New Directions was already there, setting up starting formations on the stage. Rachel saw him and waved for him to come over. Kurt turned to the wide-eyed boy beside him and smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

He trotted over to his friends and glanced back at where Blaine found a spot on a bottom bleacher, directly in front of the stage. Mr. Figgins introduced the assembly, and announced the performance to come ("A medley of your favorite songs from the movies of the Disney"). The music started, and Kurt stepped forward, belting out the first lyrics.

_Let's get down to business  
>To defeat the Huns<br>Did they send me daughters  
>When I asked for sons?<br>You're the saddest bunch  
>I ever met<br>But you can bet  
>Before we're through<br>Mister, I'll make a man  
>out of you<br>_

Kurt caught Blaine's eyes in the audience, who had a stunned grin plastered on his face. _Oh. My. God. I LOVE Disney songs!_ He continued to watch in awe as Kurt sang with such passion, and a fierce smirk on his face. His grin got impossibly wider when Kurt dropped down to lower range, practically growling out some of the lyrics, then raising his voice up to perfect countertenor heights. This boy can _sing!_

_Tranquil as a forest  
>But on fire within<br>Once you find your center  
>you are sure to win<br>You're a spineless, pale  
>pathetic lot<br>And you haven't got a clue  
>Somehow I'll make a man<br>out of you  
><em>

The next verse was taken by the rest of the club, alternating between people on the different lines.

_I'm never gonna catch  
>my breath<br>Say good-bye to those  
>who knew me<br>Boy, was I a fool in school  
>for cutting gym<br>This guy's got 'em  
>scared to death<br>Hope he doesn't see  
>right through me<br>Now I really wish that I  
>knew how to swim<em>

Kurt took lead again, with the whole of the club backing him up. He alternated between glancing at his club mates and his new friend in the audience.

_(Be a man)_  
><em>We must be swift as<em>  
><em>the coursing river<em>  
><em>(Be a man)<em>  
><em>With all the force<em>  
><em>of a great typhoon<em>  
><em>(Be a man)<em>  
><em>With all the strength<em>  
><em>of a raging fire<em>  
><em>Mysterious as the<em>  
><em>dark side of the moon<em>

Blaine was completely oblivious to everyone around him, who simply sat there, looking bored. A few students were actually carrying on conversations with people next to them, ignoring the performance all together. Blaine was too busy mouthing the lyrics and staring at the soloist to notice.

_Time is racing toward us  
>till the Huns arrive<br>Heed my every order  
>and you might survive<br>You're unsuited for  
>the rage of war<br>So pack up, go home  
>you're through<br>How could I make a man  
>out of you?<em>

_(Be a man)_  
><em>We must be swift as<em>  
><em>the coursing river<em>  
><em>(Be a man)<em>  
><em>With all the force<em>  
><em>of a great typhoon<em>  
><em>(Be a man)<em>  
><em>With all the strength<em>  
><em>of a raging fire<em>  
><em>Mysterious as the<em>  
><em>dark side of the moon<em>

_(Be a man)_  
><em>We must be swift as<em>  
><em>the Coursing river<em>  
><em>(Be a man)<em>  
><em>With all the force<em>  
><em>of a great typhoon<em>  
><em>(Be a man)<em>  
><em>With all the strength<em>  
><em>of a raging fire<em>  
><em>Mysterious as the<em>  
><em>dark side of the moon<em>

When the song finally snapped to a close, about five people (other than faculty) clapped. Blaine was one of them, rising to his feet and clapping furiously, earning odd glances from those around him. Most of the New Directions looked disappointed, but Kurt saw Blaine clapping and couldn't help but smile.

The rest of the club may have considered this a failure, but to Kurt, who had just earned a friend, it was a success.

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><p><strong>ToBeContinuedProbably<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"What the hell, you don't even go to McKinley!" Kurt was furious. After not seeing Blaine around school for a week after the performance, he allowed Puck to take him snooping, where he found out that there was no record of any boy named Blaine Anderson (they had shared last names shortly after the assembly) at the school. So Kurt, as always needing closure, looked him up in a phone book and was now yelling at him through his cell phone.

"_I'm sorry! I didn't really have a choice."_

"Why not? And why were you even here?"

"_Because my Glee club is so well rehearsed we had nothing left to do, so they sent me to spy on your club."_

"Oh, don't tell me you're one of those Warblers from Dalton?"

"_The very same."_

Kurt cursed internally. Mr. Schue had told them that the Warblers were the competition for sectionals about a week and a half ago, and he very nearly went to spy on _them_ when he felt useless during the girls versus boys competition, but decided against it and went home instead. _Fat load of good that did me. We could be the ones with the leg up now! Damn my conscience._

_"Kurt? Are you still there?"_

"Wha-? Yeah, I'm here. I was just kicking myself for not realizing that you're a _dirty. Rotten. Spy._" He punctuated the last three words, hoping the look of disgust he wore showed through his speech.

"_Oh, come on. Just because I happened to be sent to your school to spy on you doesn't mean that I'm a bad person! I tried to convince them not to make me, I really did! But I'm their lead soloist. They own me, they know I'll do anything they say if there's a chance we'll be better. They manipulated me. I shouldn't have let them."_

"No, you shouldn't have."

"_Please, just forgive me? You seem really nice, I don't like to think that I'm missing out on a friendship."_

"You seem really nice too, but that's the thing. You _seem_ nice. I don't think I know the real you."

"_How about we go get some coffee so you can?"  
><em>

Kurt knows he shouldn't. He shouldn't be friends with the enemy, not after the whole Jesse thing last year. But he was really cute...

"Fine."

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><p>Blaine watched from a small table as the lean, brown-haired boy strode in and ordered his beverage. When he turned to survey his surroundings, Blaine waved to make his presence known. Kurt nodded in recognition, and walked over to where the other boy was sitting and sat down, drink in hand.<p>

"Hi, Kurt!"

"Hello, Spy."

"I said I was sorry! And I have a name."

"Fine. Blaine." Kurt glared over the rim of his cup.

Blaine refused to be deterred, and smiled innocently. "So how have you been?"

"Fine."

"Do you plan on using only one-syllable words for the entire time we're here?"

"'Hello' has two."

"Oh, my mistake. Seriously, Kurt, lighten up."

"How am I supposed to lighten up? I'm having coffee with the enemy, who's seen us perform, who now has the advantage in competition."

"Would you like to watch us perform? Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes, actually, it would."

"Too bad."

Kurt's glare hardened.

Blaine continued, ignoring the icy-cold stare he was receiving. "I will, however, tell you anything you'd like to know about Dalton or the Warblers."

At this, the glare lightened considerably, and Kurt hummed into his coffee. "Alright, how far have you made it in competitions before?"

"We won nationals three non-consecutive times."

"Tell me about your rehearsals."

"We deal with any outstanding issues and vote on solos, oh we have a council, by the way, not a director, then we warm up in 8-part harmony, then practice possible songs for competition. It usually lasts quite a while, since most members board at Dalton and don't need to drive home. Tuition and board is steep, but most people at Dalton come from really wealthy families so it isn't a big deal."

"Is that why you're there? You're just rich?"

"No." His eyes were nervous, and looking anywhere but at the other boy.

Kurt eyed him suspiciously. "Why, then?"

"I'm there for the zero-tolerance no bullying policy."

"You were bullied before?"

"Yeah. My dad was really hesitant to send me there, he thought it was some sort of all-gay school or something. He doesn't particularly like gay people." He stared coldly down at the table. Kurt mirrored the action, thinking of how awful homophobic people are. Suddenly something clicked.

"You're gay, aren't you, Blaine?"

"Yes. And now you probably hate me, just like ever other public school kid I've ever met, right?" He looked up, pain and anger visible behind his eyes.

"No. I'm gay too," he said quietly, meeting Blaine's eyes.

Tears began to brim at both boy's eyes, because suddenly they had some common ground, and being friends didn't seem like such a hard thing to do.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>AN: Chapters in this story will probably be pretty short, but it'll be updated quickly. I expect chapter three to be up by the end of the day. Please review or subscribe! It'd make me happy if you did. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Kurt looked up into his locker door, where a picture of Blaine and the word "courage" hung proudly. He smiled, thinking about that word, and how it came to be so important to him.

The day before, Kurt and Blaine were once again in the coffee shop, basically sharing their life stories. Well, Blaine told his life story, which was this:

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><p>Blaine had been fairly popular in middle school, as he was good-looking and liked sports. Then high school came, and after one particularly persistent girl finally convinced him to go out with her, he realized that, no, he didn't think girls were exactly attractive to him. The goalie on the soccer team, however, was. He was tall and lean and had dirty-blonde hair that shimmered in the sunlight when he blocked a goal. So he came out, naively thinking it would be just fine. But no, the entire school basically shunned him, completely ignoring him whenever they passed him in the halls. Even the teachers never called on him in class, even though he always knew the answer. Some might think that being beaten up daily would be worse than being ignored, but it's not. Blaine was lonely. He never bothered to look up from his feet, knowing that nobody would run into him because they didn't want to touch him. He went straight to bed at night, not even saying hello to his parents and only ever going downstairs to eat when nobody else was home that night.<p>

His life was a piece of crap, and nobody even bothered to clean it up off the sidewalk when their poofy little dog had to take a dump during its walk. Then one day, he turned a corner and ran smack into the goalie. Both of their books fell out of their hands and were sprawled out over the floor. The goalie then stood up and walked away, never uttering a word, looking at Blaine, or bothering to pick up his books.

Anything to get away from the queer in front of him.

Blaine snapped.

"Hey! I know you hate me or whatever, but you really don't want to talk to me enough to have to pay for a whole new set of books? I'm not that bad!" Those were the first words he had said in several weeks, and his throat was sore from disuse.

The goalie turned around, and looked Blaine in the eye. "Do you really want to know why I don't want to talk to you?" He glared coldly, but Blaine could see something else behind that. "Because if I did I'd end up telling you that I really like you and then the whole of the school would hate me just as much as they hate you. Which I just did. And which they now do." He gestured towards the crowd of horrified faces around them. "Screw you Blaine Anderson."

From there, Blaine's life went back to the piece of crap it was before, only now, the goalie looked at him, noticed him. One person recognized his existence, the person he's liked all year, who likes him back, who wants him to burn in hell.

One day he was standing at his locker after school, in the near deserted hallway. Near deserted because of one other person standing in the corner of the hallway, staring at him blankly. Blaine turned towards the dirty-blonde, and a thought crossed his mind. _He likes me. He doesn't really want me to rot in a pit of my own blood. He just wants me to be his friend. Yeah. That's it. I should go talk to him._

He walked slowly over to him, his delusional mind replaying the thought over and over again. _He likes me... wants me to be his friend... talk to him._

"Hi."

The blank stare continued.

"Do you still like me?"

The goalie blinked, and although the stare didn't waver, Blaine could see something change behind them. He decided to take it as a yes. Without allowing himself to think about it, he stood up on his toes and kissed the other boy lightly on the lips. He fell back onto his feet and a mere beat after he did so, he was knocked to the ground with a walloping _crunch_.

When the spots cleared from his vision, he could just make out the boy walking away, fist still clenched tightly from when it collided from Blaine's face. _Speaking of which... _He reached a hand up to touch his recently punched face. He winced when he touched his nose, which was strangely not in the same place it was before. His finger was wet when he removed it, red liquid coating the tip. Upon seeing his own blood on his hand, Blaine allowed his head to drop back onto the cold tile floor and darkness to swallow him up.

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><p>"When I woke up, I was in the emergency room, and on the table next to the bed there were papers to transfer to Dalton and a pen. All I had to do was sign." Blaine looked up from his coffee to see Kurt, whose face was painted with worry. "I did."<p>

"Blaine... I-I'm so sorry."

"It's the past. In hindsight, I wish I had had the courage to go back and face him, but now I'm safe at Dalton."

"I think it took courage to go to Dalton too. To admit that you couldn't do anything else."

"That's what people told me. I don't believe it. I wanted to go back, to kick that guy's rotten ass. But there were the papers, sitting right there. I gave in to the temptation of a pain-free world, where people would actually notice me, and nobody would punch me either. That's something that I really, really regret."

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><p>And that's what caused Kurt's motto and locker decoration to be "courage". The desire not only to do better than Blaine did, but also to avenge him in a way. Maybe it'd make him feel just a little better about himself if Kurt's story turned out better. Even though he didn't know Kurt's story yet, didn't know about Karofsky or how his life is the other kind of crap. But he knew on some level, the universal look of deep personal pain understandable in any language.<p>

Kurt looked once more at his locker door, smiled, closed it, and started to walk down the hall when he felt a buzz in his pocket. He whipped out his phone and saw a text from the person he had been thinking about, with the word he had been thinking about. He smiled wider.

That's when Karofsky shoved him, snatched his phone, and walked off into the locker room.

Kurt found himself chasing after, and barging into the locker room with a loud "HEY!"

**TBC**

**A/N: Flashback within a flashback! Woah! :D This chapter was really fun to write, which kind of makes me feel like a bad person for making Blaine suffer. Oh well. Chapter four is already in the works, don't worry. As always, please review or subscribe! And thank you so much to those who have already done so, you inspire me to keep writing!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Kurt slumped down against the lockers, distraught. _What the hell just happened?_ He just had his bully's tongue shoved down his throat, that's what happened.

He glanced around the locker room, letting his gaze fall upon his phone on the floor a few feet away. _Karofsky must've dropped it when I came in or something..._

Shakily, he crawled over to his phone, which was unharmed, thankfully. He scrolled through his contacts and decided to send Blaine a message. They had only known each other for about two weeks, but Kurt felt obligated to tell him _something_. He settled on "I need you right now."

As he waited for a reply, he sat there on the cold ground, thinking about what must be going on in Karofsky's mind. A few football players came in (thankfully none of the glee-clubbers) and completely ignored him. Kurt was glad. The last thing he needed at that moment was another confrontation. What he did need was someone to hold and comfort and understand him. He needed to person who finally just texted him back.

"_I'm coming. You're at school? What happened?"_

Kurt sighed. How much should he give away? "Yes, I'm at McKinley. I'll tell you when you get here."

At last, Kurt was able to stand up, but since class was almost over by now anyways he just went to the library. He grabbed the first book off the first bookcase he saw, sat down in a plush chair, and pretended to read. Blaine was due to arrive just as school ended, so Kurt just had to wait two class periods (_Damn the distance between Lima and Westerville._) for help to come.

Kurt's life story had yet to be told, he was still wary of the spy. For all he knew, he was still just trying to dig for more information about the New Directions, and the story he had told was all just a bunch of lies to earn his trust. _Well, guess what, Mr. Anderson, I'm not falling for it!_ He did, however, really need _someone _there for him right now, and while Mercedes was great to tell things to, somebody would probably end up dead, and if he told Rachel, the entire school would know by tomorrow. Blaine was a perfect confident, on the off chance he was being truthful. _That's a risk I'm willing to take right now. But I probably shouldn't tell him absolutely everything yet. Just the basics._

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><p>When Blaine finally arrived, he found Kurt sitting on a bench just outside of school. His arms were wrapped around himself, and his head hung so his eyes stared blankly down at his lap. Blaine approached cautiously, and sat down about a foot away from him on the bench.<p>

"Hey."

Kurt looked up, tears staining his cheeks and still filling his eyes. "Hi."

Blaine automatically scooted closer and put his arms around the boy, trying to envelope him in a comforting hug. Kurt flinched at the contact, but Blaine wasn't deterred, and continued to hold him, rubbing his back gently and whispering words of encouragement.

Kurt allowed his head to fall onto the other boy's shoulder, the salty tears now staining the Dalton blazer he was wearing.

When the tears stopped flowing so quickly, Blaine ended the embrace and sat back, concern evident in his eyes. "Do you want to tell me whats wrong now?"

"Well... So there's this bully, who harasses me daily, and today, he shoved me, and I... I followed him into the locker room, yelling at him, and he... um."

"Kurt, it's okay. You can tell me what he did."

"He kissed me."

Blaine's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in shock. "Oh my God, Kurt, that's awful! Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Could you..." Kurt took a deep breath before continuing, "Would you talk to him with me?"

"Confront him about it?"

"Yeah."

"Kurt, I'm so sorry, but I really don't think that's a good idea."

Kurt's head whipped up to face him. "And just why not? What if... what if he does something worse than just kiss me next time?"

"You should tell somebody else about this. Someone at this school, who can actually help if things get out of hand. Someone who doesn't have to commute two hours to help you?"

"But you're here now."

"But I won't be next time."

"Please, Blaine, I need you!" Kurt pleaded, now completely turned towards Blaine on the bench, his hands resting on the other boy's tear stained shoulder. The fear in his eyes was too much to take and Blaine looked away.

"I'm sorry, Kurt, but I can't. Try telling your principal or your choir director or something."

"You seemed like too nice of person to not help someone who needs your help. I think there's another reason you won't help me. What is it?"

"I don't want to have to confront any more bullies. I don't want to be punched in the face again," he replied bluntly.

Kurt stood up. "Fine. Don't help me. You know, I put myself out on a limb turning to you. I thought that maybe I could trust you to help me. I see now I was wrong." He ended with finality, turned on his heel, and walked to his car.

"Kurt, wait!" Blaine got up and chased after him.

The boy in question stopped in front of his car, and turned to glare at the boy coming up to him.

Blaine continued. "Isn't there anything _else_ I can do? You really can trust me, Kurt. I just can't confront anyone. And it was just a kiss. Why is it even such a big deal?"

"Because up until today, I had never been kissed. Or at least, not that counted."

Blaine leaned up against the car and sighed. He reached out to put a hand on the still crying boy's shoulder. "Let me buy you lunch."

Kurt nodded once and they both climbed into the vehicle they were leaning on.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>AN: I'm loving this story. It's really fun to use bits of the real dialog and change other things. Thanks to all of you for the reviews, subscriptions, and favorites! I lessthanthree you all! Up next, will things with Karofsky reach a boiling point? Will Kurt confront him alone or tell a teacher? Will Kurt ever be able to trust Blaine? Stay tuned to find out! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**==Rating moved up to T for almost-rape==**

**Chapter Five**

The next few weeks went by relatively quickly, and without another confrontation with Karofsky. Kurt had decided that teachers couldn't actually do anything for him since he had no proof to support his claim, and he knew that without Blaine on his side, he'd never be able to confront him alone. If he did that, then there wouldn't be a witness, there wouldn't be anyone to call for help. So Kurt did nothing, and nothing came right back to him. He was happy.

Until he wasn't. It happened during a passing period again, and Kurt was looking up at the picture of Blaine in his locker. He still didn't trust him, but he was good looking and at least outwardly nice, so may as well try to be friends, right? If Blaine ended up being a conniving little liar and was just using Kurt to win sectionals, then so be it. It was worth it to have another gay guy (Kurt didn't doubt that at least that part was true. He'd caught Blaine checking out some guy's butt in the coffee shop when he thought Kurt wasn't looking.) to lean on for a while.

Kurt's daydreams of Blaine were snapped to a close when the locker door was slammed shut just inches away from his face. Behind the door was Karofsky, snarling. He grabbed Kurt's wrist with one hand and covered his mouth with the other, and dragged him into a nearby abandoned classroom. Kurt tried to struggle free, but the behemoth was just too much bigger than him. As soon as they entered the room, the door was quickly and silently shut, and Kurt was pressed up against the wall next to it by a hulking mass of flesh.

Suddenly the hand was removed from his face, and was replaced by a pair of dry, thin lips. Kurt was completely trapped, sandwiched between the wall and Karofsky, unable to move more than a finger. His eyes were wide with shock and horror as he helplessly watched the face in front of him attack his lips. He couldn't move, couldn't breath. He started to see spots.

Karofsky moved his hand downwards and unbuttoned and unzipped Kurt's pants. Kurt squeezed his eyes shut and thought, _This is it. I'm going to be raped. Oh God, why me?_ Karofsky's enormous, rough hand reached right under his boxers without hesitation, slipping down and starting to feel him up. His tongue never once left Kurt's mouth. Angry, pain filled tears ran down the smaller boy's face as he tried to come to terms with losing his virginity to a horrible neanderthal, against his will.

Luckily, he didn't have to, because at that moment, someone knocked on the door. Karofsky halted, removing his hand from Kurt's pants to cover his mouth. A quiet voice drifted through the door. "Um, is anyone in there? I could hear noises from the other side of the wall..." _Mr. Schuester! _Kurt thought excitedly. _We must be in that classroom next to the choir room! _He tried to scream out but Karofsky's hand was clenched so tight no sound came out.

Karofsky silently maneuvered them over to the room's closet, stepping inside and closing the door. They were completely surrounded by darkness. Karofsky held Kurt tight and silent while keeping an ear to the door. From what Kurt could tell, Mr. Schue had entered the room, saw nobody there, and left. Karofsky didn't move until he was sure nobody was there anymore.

"That was close. Too close." Karofsky leaned in closer and glared at the terrified boy in the darkness. "If you ever tell anyone what happened here, _I'm going to kill you_." His words cut through the air like a knife. With that, he opened the door and left, leaving Kurt alone and moving large table in front of the door on his way out.

Now Kurt was trapped in a closet in an abandoned classroom that hardly anyone ever goes in, supplied with a death threat from a bully who tried to rape him.

He sank to the floor and started to sob.

**TBC**

**A/N: I know it's short, but I got distracted reading other fics and lost the motivation to write more, but I still wanted another chapter up by tonight so here it is. Most of chapter six (wow, this story is progressing quickly!) is already in my head so it shouldn't take too long to write tomorrow. Reviews and such are lovely as always! Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Yay a longer chapter! Sorry for the wait, I didn't feel like writing yesterday. So I finally got a chance to use another song, which is "Reflection", also from Mulan. I know it might seem OOC for everyone to sing exclusively Disney songs, but you know what, they have a song for just about everything, and they're catchy, and most people recognize them. So I'm sticking with it. Enjoy this chapter! Review, please! :3**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

Kurt sat on the floor of the pitch black closet crying for what seemed like hours, but was probably a lot more like 15 minutes. He eventually got up and tried to open the door, pushed with all his might, but he soon realized he was no match for the table. He slunk back down and brought his knees up to rest his head on them. He considered calling out for help, but there would be questions. Questions that Kurt certainly didn't want to answer, especially on threat of death.

_What about Blaine? I hate to make him drive all the way over here again, and he would ask questions too... But at least he knows the back story. He wouldn't make me tell the whole story if I didn't want to. Right?_

He slipped his phone out of his pocket (Karofsky had been in too much of a rush to take it from him) and typed a quick text to Blaine. "Locked in a closet. Don't want people to know I'm here. Come get me? Please?"

The reply was almost instant. _"Hang tight. I'll be there in about two hours. Courage."_

Kurt sighed in relief. He could wait that long. He took the boy's final word to heart, pocketing his phone and resting his head back onto the door, forcing himself to remain calm.

It proved difficult.

Now that Kurt was truly alone with his thoughts and two hours of time to kill, he couldn't stop the incident from replaying in his head. He could still feel the tightness in his lungs from not being able to breath, and he could still feel the large, grubby hand down his pants. He let out a small whimper, which echoed all too loud in the deafening silence of the closet.

He fell into a fitful sleep.

About and hour and a half later, Kurt awoke with a start, realizing that his phone was buzzing in his pocket. A text from Blaine. _"I'm here. What closet are you in?"_

Kurt proceeded to relay directions to the room, trusting that his earlier hunch of being next to the choir room was correct. A few minutes passed, and the sound of a door opening was heard.

"Kurt?" It was just a whisper, but the boy in the closet heard it, and recognized the voice as Blaine's.

"Yeah."

The table was moved out of the way and suddenly Kurt was looking up at what seemed like an angel sent from Heaven (not that Kurt believed in God, but anyways). Blaine stood before him, basked in a very soft light from a window, wearing a reassuring smile with his Dalton uniform, and reaching out a hand to help him up.

Kurt took it, and was immediately surrounded by strong arms. He didn't flinch this time. He just wrapped his own arms around the other boy, needing to feel the presence of another person there, who wasn't going to hurt him. _Which is still undetermined!_ Kurt tried to reason with himself, but darn it if he didn't just feel safe here, warm in Blaine's hug.

* * *

><p>The two didn't see each other for a while after that, because Kurt's dad was getting married to Finn's mom, and Kurt was planning the whole event, not to mention performing in it. Things slowly went back to normal in the bullying world, and Kurt was shoved into lockers on a daily basis, but at least it wasn't as bad as <em>that<em>. He was still pretty shaken up by it, and flinched any time anyone touched him (aside from Blaine, but they didn't see each other then, so yeah), but he refused to talk to anyone about it.

The day after the wedding, Kurt was happy. Everything was beautiful and the performance went great, and he had just gained a wonderful step-mom and a supportive step-brother. It almost made the bullying tolerable. Almost.

_It'd be a lot more tolerable if I could see Blaine..._

And speak of the devil, there he was. Kurt was walking out of school for the week (it was Friday), ready to get home, change into pajamas, and watch The Sound of Music, when he spotted a familiar clump of gelled black hair flit past. No males in this school used hair gel besides himself and Mr Schue, so there was only one person it could be.

"Blaine!" Kurt chased after the boy, and found him leaving the school office. He turned around and smiled at the taller boy, who noticed the weakness of the smile and the bags under his eyes immediately.

"Hey, Kurt."

"What are you doing here?"

"Picking up my schedule and textbooks. I start school here on Monday." Blaine averted his gaze, and hiked his messenger bag, which was full to the brim with said textbooks, higher onto his shoulder.

Kurt's jaw dropped to his feet. "WHAT? But, why? What happened? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I flunked out of Dalton. So I'm being transferred here because it's the closet public school to my parent's new house. I just found out today."

"But... But you had excellent grades! How did you manage to flunk out?"

"I stopped going to class."

Kurt humphed at the boy's insistent vagueness. "Because..." he prompted.

"Because I couldn't think of a reason to get myself to get out of bed. Well, except for Warbler rehearsal. Singing still makes me feel better."

Kurt sighed and grabbed the boy's elbow, leading him outside to a bench and sitting him down. He sat down next to him, their thighs touching. "Oh, Blaine, honey, what's wrong?" He placed a comforting hand on the now weeping boy's shoulder.

Blaine looked up and met Kurt's eyes. "Ever since the, uh, closet incident, I've been really worried about you. And about myself. Before I met you, I had, sort of forgotten that bad people like that exist. I was in this safe little bubble where nobody could hurt me. But then you came along and I realized that there's a world outside my own, and it's a pretty crappy place. I didn't see the point in getting up out of bed when I knew I'd get killed out in the real world in a few years anyways. People don't like gay people. I even knew this from experience, but the future seemed so far away at the time, I didn't worry about what it'd be like when I joined the real world. Now it's so close and I don't see the point."

He realized how much fear and worry was in the other boy's eyes, so he looked down at his lap before continuing. "I stopped going to class, and eventually I failed everything, although it took a while because my grades had a long way to drop. I flunked out, and now I'll go here. Simple as that."

Kurt reached out and lifted Blaine's chin, forcing him to look him in the eye. "But, Blaine, it's not that simple. You should have told some one you were having trouble. You could've told me. Didn't anyone notice you were feeling down? You said you still went to Warbler rehearsals, didn't somebody there notice?"

"It wouldn't have done any good to tell anyone. And I knew you were busy with the wedding stuff, you didn't have time to fix my problems. As for the Warblers, I have a pretty strong wall put up. Nobody ever knows if something is wrong."

"That's terrible. You need to let people in sometimes!"

"Have you told anyone other than me about what happened that day?" Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"Point taken. We both need to open up."

"Or neither of us do. You seem to be doing just fine."

"But you don't! How about this. If I tell my parents that I'm having trouble, will you?"

"No." Blaine's response was quick and blunt, as if he had decided long ago that he wouldn't tell them.

"Why not? Parents are there to help!"

"Not mine. They don't exactly... approve of my... er... lifestyle."

"They're homophobic?"

"Yes. I'm a disgrace to them. They stopped talking to me when I came out." He sighed deeply. "Whenever I'm around them, I have to pretend to be as straight as possible, otherwise they might freak out and throw me out or something. I don't know, and I don't want to find out, but I'll be pretending a lot more, now that I'll be living with them again."

"Blaine, you're living a lie. You refuse to show who you are inside. Both with you're parents and your friends at Dalton. Why do you do it?"

Blaine raised his head as a spark of inspiration spread across his face. "I don't know, but I do know what song I'm going to sing to audition for New Directions!" He grinned, got up, and ran to his car, yelling behind him, "Thanks, Kurt!"

* * *

><p>On Monday, Kurt and Blaine walked to choir together. They only had that class and French together, the latter being at the beginning of the day and the the former being the last class. Kurt stopped at the door of the room, and said, "You know, I have to use the bathroom. You go ahead, I'll be there in a bit." Blaine nodded his consent and entered the choir room, facing many odd glances from the singers already there.<p>

Of course Kurt had wanted to be there when Blaine introduced himself and auditioned, but hey, when duty calls, it's best to answer the phone on the first ring. He finished his business and walked back to the choir room, already hearing the telltale sounds of violins. Blaine had refused to tell him what song he was going to sing, much to Kurt's annoyance. But it sounded like he would get to hear it anyways.

He stopped in the doorway so as not to distract the boy, who was now standing in the middle of the room, as a flute joined the aforementioned violins. He opened his mouth to sing, and Kurt tensed up, excited to finally hear the singing voice he hadn't heard yet.

_Look at me_

_I will never pass for a perfect bride_

_Or a perfect daughter_

Kurt noted the way Blaine didn't so much as bat an eyelash at the female words. He was singing a song because it was a good song, not because it was sung by a certain gender. He earned a point of respect in Kurt's mind.

_Can it be_

_I'm not meant to play this part?_

_Now I see_

_That if I were truly to be myself_

_I would break my family's heart._

Blaine sang in a lower voice than in the original, but it worked for him. His voice was, to put it bluntly, dreamy. His emotions flowed freely through the words, which seemed to fit his situation perfectly.

_Who is that girl I see_

_Staring straight_

_Back at me?_

_Why is my reflection someone_

_I don't know?_

_Somehow I cannot hide_

_Who I am_

_Though I've tried_

_When will my reflection show_

_Who I am inside?_

His voice grew louder at the climatic note, and he closed his eyes in passion. When he opened them again, he saw Kurt in the doorway, and sang the last line of music while staring directly at him.

_When will my reflection show_

_Who I am inside?_

Suddenly something clicked inside of Kurt. That was raw emotion in the short, but to the point song. And Blaine didn't even know he was listening until the end. That wasn't a lie, and it wasn't a trick to earn Kurt's trust. That was a boy who was going through a really tough time in his life, and was only looking for acceptance. Kurt felt like a fool for not trusting him before.

He stepped into the choir room and clapped for his friend.

**TBC.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Once Blaine joined the New Directions (he was welcomed with applause and a group hug), and explained about a dozen times that no, he isn't a spy (Rachel: "JESSE STJAMES CRACKED AN EGG ON MY HEAD, YOU LYING DIRTBAG!") and he really is here because he flunked out of Dalton (for unknown reasons to all but Kurt. He actually had to show them a notified paper from the school proving his failure), he and Kurt became inseparable. They gave each other rides to school (because, who would've guessed that his parents new house is a block and a half away from Kurt's?), they ate lunch together, they went to to go get coffee after school at least three times a week. They quickly became best friends.

This didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group, and Kurt was constantly pestered by Rachel and Mercedes about whether or not the two were going out yet (Blaine had come out to the rest of the club almost immediately and was relieved to see how understanding they all were). Kurt consistently told them that they were "just friends".

Unfortunately, now that there were two out gays in school, who were very close and were pretty much always seen together, the homophobes around had some new material. Blaine was slushied _twice_ by the end of his first day being out, and anytime a jock saw the two together, they would make disgusting kissy faces. After a week of torment, Blaine snapped.

It happened right after school, about a week before Sectionals. Mr. Schue had offered Blaine a chance to solo at the competition, and despite Rachel's rude remarks, he was elated. He and Kurt walked out of school together, laughing about Rachel's crazy antics and something Santana said that shut her up in about a nanosecond. Kurt looked over at him and saw a clear spark of happiness in his eyes. Even with all the bullying and the negative attention, he managed to find something to laugh about. Kurt couldn't stop himself from stopping the boy by touching his shoulder, saying, "I'm proud of you, you know," before giving him a quick hug, right in the middle of the crowds of exiting people.

Somebody pushed them. The word "Fags" cut through the air. Kurt watched in horror as the spark in Blaine's eye turned to one of anger. The black-haired boy turned around and started to run straight at the nameless football player still standing there with a sneer on his face. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The jock's smile transformed into a gasp and before anyone around them had time to process anything, Blaine's fist was colliding with the boy's face. Kurt had the sense to step in and grab Blaine's arm before he had the chance to swing again.

"Blaine, stop it! That's not going to help anything!"

The boy pulled out of his grasp and stalked away, leaving Kurt to give the jock (now cradling his face in pain) a confused glance before following.

* * *

><p>An hour later, the two were sitting on Kurt's bed, Blaine flipping through a book of sheet music, trying to pick a song for Sectionals and purposefully ignoring the issue at hand while Kurt stared at him from where he was sitting.<p>

"Come on, you know we need to talk about this."

"What's there to talk about? People suck, end of story."

Kurt grabbed the book from his hands, attempting to end the distractions. "No, not end of story. Blaine, you punched a kid!"

"He called us fags!"

"People have called us that before, it never seemed to bother you."

Blaine finally looked Kurt in the eye, his own shimmering with unshed tears. "Yeah, well maybe it did. I'm not like you, Kurt. I'm not strong like you. I'm not able to just ignore the hate. It gets to me, no matter how hard I try to push it back. That's what made me get kicked out of Dalton, and it's what made me punch that kid. I snap too easily."

"Then why did you hide it? I thought that when you sang 'Reflection', you decided that you weren't going to hide from people any more."

"And I tried to! Dammit, Kurt, why can't you understand? It's hard to change! I can't... I just can't do it."

Kurt reached out and took Blaine's hands, holding firmly when he struggled. "Maybe not alone, you can't, but you aren't alone! You have friends who love you. At the very least you have me."

"Do I?"

"Always."

At that, Blaine lowered his head and gave Kurt's hands a light squeeze. "Thanks," he whispered.

Kurt leaned over and pressed a quick (completely friendly!) kiss to the boy's head. "Any time." He realized how intimate of an embrace they were in and quickly ended it, leaning back to reach the book of sheet music. "You still need to pick a song."

Blaine sighed and accepted the book. "I suppose."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Blaine suddenly said, "This one," his finger resting on a page. Kurt looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"That's a duet."

Blaine smiled at him. "I guess I'll just have to find a partner, then, won't I?"

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: OHMYGOSH. This chapter was so hard to write. I had serious writer's block, hence the long wait. Sorry for that. So see that button down there that says "Review this chapter"? That's a magical button that makes somebody's day better when you click on it. :)**


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